Best of the best

Here are some of the best games between the Yankees and Red Sox:

Peter Zellen

Published
12:00 am EDT, Friday, October 17, 2003

1. Oct. 16, 2003, ALCS Game 7  On paper it was already the best game because the two teams were rarely ever so even.

2. Oct. 2, 1978, Game 163  Like this years postseason, the belief was that the Yankees and Red Sox were easily the two best teams in baseball that year. Because it was during the pre-wild card era, only one of these teams could make the postseason, let alone the World Series. The Yankees won 5-4 game as shortstop Bucky Dent beat Mike Torrez, the Green Monster and the Red Sox with a three-run home run 25 years ago.

3. Sept. 2, 2001  Mike Mussina was dazzling for 8 2/3 innings at Fenway Park, refusing to allow a Red Sox batter to reach base by any means while maintaining the narrowest of leads 1-0. Pinch-hitter Carl Everett broke the perfect game bid with a single but Mussina (13 strikeouts) and the Yankees still won the game.

4. May 28, 2000  Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez traded goose eggs for eight innings before Trot Nixons two-out, two-run home run in the ninth gave Boston a 2-0 win.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Yankees and Red Sox met a combined 26 times in the regular season and playoffs, the most ever between two MLB teams in one season. Each team won 13 games.